The Buzz @ 80

Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke University

WDNC was Durham's first radio station taking to the airwaves in 1934. Eight decades later it's spreading across the media landscape like kudzu!

This summer we have extended the venerable AM radio station to the FM band with two translators. One covers Raleigh on 99.3 and last week we added 96.5 to serve Durham.

 Click here for full view of coverage map.

These changes represent an improvement in fidelity and coverage for Duke University sports, Durham Bulls baseball, CBS Sports Radio...and during the daytime for fans of Mike & Mark (6-9am), Dan Patrick (9am-noon), Jim Rome (noon-4pm) and ESPN's Dan Le Batard (4-7pm).

In your car, on your phone/tablet/PC/TV...
The station is also available to HD Radio listeners (99.9 HD2) and we stream the signal at our website and on our app. Also, you can watch the Mike & Mark morning show on MeTV (WRAZ .2 and TWC 1250.) That's seven channels of distribution for what used to be one AM radio station. Happy 80th birthday to WDNC!

That's THE TICKET!

I'll take a break from Matsui Madness at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and post on another favorite subject - Sports Radio.

Harkening back to March Madness and the Triangle's affection for college hoops, we had very strong ratings during the NCAA tourney. Sports blogger (and number cruncher) Clay Travis has 99.9 The Fan tied for number three sports radio station in the country:

From outkickthecoverage.com

Another development on the bleeding edge of HD Radio...

We just premiered a new sports outlet - 99.9 (HD-3) The Ticket. This station is unconventional. You need an HD receiver. And you can listen online via PC or smartphone. 

The Ticket is affiliated with Yahoo! Sports Radio and they serve up Tim Brando from 10a-1p each day. The new HD station is also the home of Carolina Railhawks soccer and Appalachian State sports.

The Ticket gives us the opportunity to do more local play-by-play. This past Saturday we aired the state championship high school lacrosse match. 

Digital technology...digital radio...more sports...more local programming...that's the ticket!

More on The Ticket
More on HD Radio

Bullish on HD Radio

This is complicated. Bear with me... 

99.9 The Fan (WCMC-FM) has expanded its HD Radio footprint in the Triangle, and with an HD Radio you can hear Bulls play-by-play broadcasts on the FM band.

Bulls flagship station 620 The Buzz (WDNC-AM) is simulcast on WCMC's HD-2 channel. I know it seems byzantine, but with an HD Radio, it's effortless. I just had this Kenwood HD rig installed in my car. 

This coverage map shows our HD-2 (620 The Buzz) coverage compared to WDNC's night-time signal. Bulls broadcasts on WDNC are pretty much restricted to Durham County at night. On HD, however, you can hear the Bulls across Wake County and beyond. The sound quality - digital - is greatly improved, too.

This is a palm-size, portable HD radio. I bought it at Best Buy for about fifty bucks. I've got three HD radios now...seems to be an obsession.

More on HD Radio

HD Radio (for dummies)

This is going to be geeky, but I want to report on our progress with HD Radio at 99.9 The Fan/ESPN Radio. It's another communications and entertainment advance thanks to digital technology.

While our engineers wince at this description, HD Radio allows us to insert additional stations into our existing FM frequency. With an HD Radio you can receive FOUR channels on The Fan's signal:

1. WCMC 99.9 fm - The Fan's traditional analog station
2. WCMC HD1 - The Fan's digital signal
3. WCMC HD2 - ESPN News
4. WCMC HD3 - WDNC 620/The Buzz

The latest development is that HD3 channel. We've put the audio of our Durham AM station on the FM band via HD Radio. If you live in the Raleigh area - with an HD Radio - you can listen to Durham Bulls baseball, Duke sports, Mark & Mike, Dan Patrick and Jim Rome...on the FM band...with digital sound. That's a serious upgrade for The Buzz.

Yes, you need the HD Radio, but otherwise, it's free! No subscription required.

Satellite radio had thwarted the roll-out of HD Radio, but auto makers are now installing radios with HD capability as standard equipment. It began with hi-end cars like the BMW and Benz, but Ford is on board...with more manufacturers in the pipeline.

This is our current HD Radio coverage area. Click the map to enlarge.

Here's a video explanation of HD Radio...

Click here for the HD Radio website.